Management Information Sheet
Modern Reward Strategy Project - Foundation & Voluntary Aided Schools
Negotiations
Most Foundation and Voluntary Aided Schools have indicated that they wish to be part of the Modern Reward Strategy Project and have already communicated this to us. However, we need to reflect your special status in which you are the employer of staff, including support staff, in your school as far as negotiations are concerned. The negotiations we have been undertaking with the support staff Trade Unions, covers a whole package of pay and conditions measures, the main elements of which you have been fully informed. In addition, we have established a School Steering Group which includes Judy Leggett and Lucinda Poliakoff from the Norfolk Governors’ Network along with three Headteachers covering all phases of education, in order that 'schools’ views are fully represented in the project.
In undertaking these negotiations we have not sought to differentiate between staff employed in Community or Foundation Schools as their job descriptions and Conditions of Service, in our view, equally apply across all schools in Norfolk.
However, I am writing at this stage to ask that you arrange for your Governing Body formally to consider and endorse the County Council’s proposals as the School’s proposals. By passing such a resolution, the requirement for the School to conduct its own negotiations will be avoided. We are convinced that for schools to undertake separate negotiations with Trade Unions will be difficult for both employer and Trade Union and therefore would recommend strongly to you that the Governing Body takes this action. Attached to this letter is a form, please click here, in which you may indicate its decision on negotiations and return as soon as possible to Lorna Cottingham, Room 061, Children’s Services, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich, NR1 2DL.
Appeals Procedure
When the outcomes of the Job Evaluation process associated with the Modern Reward Strategy Project are communicated to employees the information they will receive as follows:-
Further information will be available to postholders on request; however, it is inevitable that there will be a number of appeals made against the decisions taken.
When the initial proposal information is sent to individual members of staff they will have the option to lodge an appeal within a set timescale. The grounds for appeal will be specific ie:
Whilst recognising that Governing Bodies have the responsibility for taking decisions about the pay and grading of their staff, it is appreciated that this initial volume could prove to be a burden on schools to manage, and it is therefore being proposed that an option be made available for Governing Bodies to delegate this responsibility and to have these appeals managed and determined centrally.
Initial discussions with community schools have shown that they prefer that these appeals are managed centrally and, unless you are certain that your school has the capacity and ability to undertake this task yourself, you are strongly advised to consider and adopt this option.
Where a school chooses to delegate this responsibility, the process that will be followed will be that adopted by the Council Council for dealing with appeals arising from employees covered by the Modern Strategy Reward Project, and is described below.
When the appeal is received by the MRS Job Evaluation Team, the appeal statement will be reviewed to check whether the matter raised by the postholder is one that can properly be dealt with under the evaluation/appeals process. If not, either:
If it is determined that the postholder’s appeal should go to a panel, the panel will comprise three trained job evaluators - a senior HR Manager (normally acting as Chair), another senior manager, and trade union representative. Both genders will be represented on the panel, none of the panel will be from the same service as the appellant, nor would they have been involved in the original evaluation of the job. A technical adviser will assist the panel.
The decision of the panel will result in the evaluation line for the job being reviewed and, where necessary, amended. The job evaluation score could therefore go up or down, or stay the same.
The Headteacher, or another representative from the school will be invited to attend the panel, as will the postholder who may be accompanied by a trade union representative or work colleague.
A modified version of this process will be developed and made developed and made available for Governors to adopt as a model to be followed should a school wish to hold their own appeals.
Governing Bodies would then have to set up a committee that would hear appeals in accordance with this policy, and will need to consider the training that would be required to enable Governors to undertake this task eg Job Evaluation training in the use of the HAY system.
Every Foundation/VA School is therefore being requested to consider at the next available full meeting whether to delegate the hearing of appeals relating to the outcomes of the Modern Reward Job Evaluation process to the Local Authority and to note formally the outcome of their deliberation. We are aware that when we wrote to community schools, some foundation schools replied but nonetheless I should be grateful if you would record and notify me of the decision of the Governing Body.
Next Steps
Click here for access to a form on which you may indicate your decision on appeals procedures and return no later than 20 March 2008 to Lorna Cottingham, Room 061, Children’s Services, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2DL.
Schools choosing not to delegate must put in place appropriate measures to consider appeals themselves.
Further details of the appeals process will be provided to schools when information about the outcomes of the job evaluation process is communicated to employees as part of the MRS consultation process.
Action for you to take:
Most Foundation and Voluntary Aided Schools have indicated that they wish to be part of the Modern Reward Strategy Project and have already communicated this to us. However, we need to reflect your special status in which you are the employer of staff, including support staff, in your school as far as negotiations are concerned. The negotiations we have been undertaking with the support staff Trade Unions, covers a whole package of pay and conditions measures, the main elements of which you have been fully informed. In addition, we have established a School Steering Group which includes Judy Leggett and Lucinda Poliakoff from the Norfolk Governors’ Network along with three Headteachers covering all phases of education, in order that 'schools’ views are fully represented in the project.
In undertaking these negotiations we have not sought to differentiate between staff employed in Community or Foundation Schools as their job descriptions and Conditions of Service, in our view, equally apply across all schools in Norfolk.
However, I am writing at this stage to ask that you arrange for your Governing Body formally to consider and endorse the County Council’s proposals as the School’s proposals. By passing such a resolution, the requirement for the School to conduct its own negotiations will be avoided. We are convinced that for schools to undertake separate negotiations with Trade Unions will be difficult for both employer and Trade Union and therefore would recommend strongly to you that the Governing Body takes this action. Attached to this letter is a form, please click here, in which you may indicate its decision on negotiations and return as soon as possible to Lorna Cottingham, Room 061, Children’s Services, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich, NR1 2DL.
Appeals Procedure
When the outcomes of the Job Evaluation process associated with the Modern Reward Strategy Project are communicated to employees the information they will receive as follows:-
| Details of the Job Evaluation score awarded to their post by either an evaluation process, or a job matching exercise. | |
| Details of how the Job Evaluation score translates into a new grade. | |
| Details of the appeals process, and timescale. |
Further information will be available to postholders on request; however, it is inevitable that there will be a number of appeals made against the decisions taken.
When the initial proposal information is sent to individual members of staff they will have the option to lodge an appeal within a set timescale. The grounds for appeal will be specific ie:
| There has been significant change in the job since evaluation. | |
| The job is substantially different from the benchmark job it was matched to in the evaluation process. | |
| The Job Analysis Questionnaire was not accurate and complete. | |
| The job was not evaluated correctly in comparison with other jobs. |
Whilst recognising that Governing Bodies have the responsibility for taking decisions about the pay and grading of their staff, it is appreciated that this initial volume could prove to be a burden on schools to manage, and it is therefore being proposed that an option be made available for Governing Bodies to delegate this responsibility and to have these appeals managed and determined centrally.
Initial discussions with community schools have shown that they prefer that these appeals are managed centrally and, unless you are certain that your school has the capacity and ability to undertake this task yourself, you are strongly advised to consider and adopt this option.
Where a school chooses to delegate this responsibility, the process that will be followed will be that adopted by the Council Council for dealing with appeals arising from employees covered by the Modern Strategy Reward Project, and is described below.
When the appeal is received by the MRS Job Evaluation Team, the appeal statement will be reviewed to check whether the matter raised by the postholder is one that can properly be dealt with under the evaluation/appeals process. If not, either:
| If the issue arises from date error or other straightforward matter which can readily be resolved, that will be put in hand by the Modern Reward Strategy Team, or | |
| If the issue cannot readily be resolved, the postholder will be informed by the Modern Reward Strategy Team, and advised what courses of action remain open to them, this may include referring the matter back to the Governing Body if the basis of the appeal is outside of the Modern Reward Strategy criteria. |
If it is determined that the postholder’s appeal should go to a panel, the panel will comprise three trained job evaluators - a senior HR Manager (normally acting as Chair), another senior manager, and trade union representative. Both genders will be represented on the panel, none of the panel will be from the same service as the appellant, nor would they have been involved in the original evaluation of the job. A technical adviser will assist the panel.
The decision of the panel will result in the evaluation line for the job being reviewed and, where necessary, amended. The job evaluation score could therefore go up or down, or stay the same.
The Headteacher, or another representative from the school will be invited to attend the panel, as will the postholder who may be accompanied by a trade union representative or work colleague.
A modified version of this process will be developed and made developed and made available for Governors to adopt as a model to be followed should a school wish to hold their own appeals.
Governing Bodies would then have to set up a committee that would hear appeals in accordance with this policy, and will need to consider the training that would be required to enable Governors to undertake this task eg Job Evaluation training in the use of the HAY system.
Every Foundation/VA School is therefore being requested to consider at the next available full meeting whether to delegate the hearing of appeals relating to the outcomes of the Modern Reward Job Evaluation process to the Local Authority and to note formally the outcome of their deliberation. We are aware that when we wrote to community schools, some foundation schools replied but nonetheless I should be grateful if you would record and notify me of the decision of the Governing Body.
Next Steps
Click here for access to a form on which you may indicate your decision on appeals procedures and return no later than 20 March 2008 to Lorna Cottingham, Room 061, Children’s Services, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2DL.
Schools choosing not to delegate must put in place appropriate measures to consider appeals themselves.
Further details of the appeals process will be provided to schools when information about the outcomes of the job evaluation process is communicated to employees as part of the MRS consultation process.
Action for you to take:
| Inform Clerk to Governors to place an appropriate item on the next main Governors Meeting. | |
| Ensure that the outcomes of the Governors decisions are recorded and returned to Lorna Cottingham. |